UBCIC Congratulates Esk’etemc on the Historic Settlement of their Water Rights Specific Claim

News Release
July 25, 2024

UBCIC Congratulates Esk’etemc on the Historic Settlement of their Water Rights Specific Claim

(xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/ Vancouver, B.C. – July 25, 2024) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) congratulates Esk’etemc (formerly known as the Alkali Lake Indian Band) on achieving an historic $147 million settlement with the federal government under Canada’s Specific Claims Policy for the loss of water rights associated with Indian Reserve 6 (Wycott’s Flat, or Tsqewt).

This settlement of this specific claim represents decades of research, commitment, and perseverance: Esk’etemc filed its claim against the federal government in 2003, seeking justice for Canada’s failure to secure Esk’etemc water rights, water records and dam, and preventing them from building a necessary irrigation ditch. Canada rejected the claim in 2011 and in 2017 Esk’etemc took legal steps to have its claim heard by the Specific Claims Tribunal. In 2018, Canada changed its position, acknowledging that it breached its lawful obligations to Esk’etemc and agreed to negotiate the claim. The settlement represents a significant milestone for the resolution of specific claims in British Columbia. There has been only one other water rights claim settled (in 1996) since Canada introduced its Specific Claims Policy in 1981. Many of the Esk’etemc leaders, Elders, and community members who contributed to the claim have passed on, but the significance of their achievement will be felt by generations to come. The UBCIC extends our best wishes to Esk’etemc regarding their remarkable accomplishment.  

Canada’s Indian Reserve Commission allotted IR 6 for Esk’etemc in 1881 and included all the water from Vert Lake to the southeast, in order to properly irrigate the reserve. Canada’s surveyors also surveyed an irrigation ditch. When the ditch was near completion, Canada ordered Esk’etemc to stop work, and the government abandoned its water allotment record, allowing water rights to be granted to settlers. As a result, Esk’etemc could not irrigate their land or engage in agriculture, resulting in poverty and enormous hardship. The settlement of this claim provides a measure of redress to right this more than a century-old wrong, and the UBCIC shares with Esk’etemc optimism about the future opportunities that will flow from settlement of the claim.  

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, UBCIC President, declared, “This settlement is truly momentous in acknowledging that Canada had a lawful obligation to protect First Nations’ historic water rights and water allocations. The federal government has been reluctant to acknowledge this obligation for decades, dodging responsibility through jurisdictional maneuvering and pointing to the Province as the governing authority over water allocations. This is an important reversal of position and the only just one. The UBCIC is thrilled that through its determination to see justice done, Esk’etemc has, after 20 years, achieved this amazing outcome. We wish them the best for the future and hope the settlement brings about healing and constructive possibilities for generations.”

Chief Dalton Silver, Chair of the BC Specific Claims Working Group, explained, “The allotment of water rights was a crucial component of reserve creation in British Columbia, especially in the interior where access to water was scarce. Water is vital for First Nations communities who rely on it to cultivate food, and to support fishing, hunting, and trapping. It is the foundation of our existence as Indigenous peoples in our territories. Water is life. I hope the settlement of Esk’etemc’s water rights specific claim marks the beginning of a new approach by Canada in resolving these claims, one that prioritizes upholding the right to redress for the grave harms done to our communities, rather than minimizing liability. I couldn’t be happier for Esk’etemc and wholeheartedly congratulate Kukpi7 Fred Robbins and the entire community on this tremendous accomplishment.

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Media inquiries:
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, UBCIC President:  250-490-5314
Chief Dalton Silver, Chair, BCSCWG:               604-751-0947

 

UBCIC is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

For more information, please visit www.ubcic.bc.ca

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